Cable haulage installation

ABSTRACT

A cable haulage installation comprises a cable-like transport element and cable pulleys over which the element travels. Shaped members are fixed at intervals to the transport element and at least one drive pulley is formed with corresponding recesses engageable by the shaped members.

United States Patent 1191 Kretschmar 1 Mar. 26, 1974 [54] CABLE HAULAGE INSTALLATION I 1,453,702 5/1923 Carstens 198/176 X 367.102 7/1887 H S et al. 4 1 198/176 [75] Inventor Hem welsensteg 3,338,375 8/1967 BLES 198/130 Germany [73] Assignee'. Rali's GmbH, Wiesensteig, Germany Primary Examiner A"en N Knowles [22] Filed: Oct 4, 1972 Attorney, Agent, or Firm--Oliver D. Olson [21] Appl. No.: 295,002

[57] ABSTRACT a" i gg A cable haulage installation comprises a cable-like [58] Fie'ld 175 176 transport element and cable pulleys over which the el- 8 ement travels. Shaped members are fixed at intervals to the transport element and at least one drive pulley [56] References Cited is formed with corresponding recesses engageable by the shaped members. UNITED STATES PATENTS 516,698 3/1894 Bliss 198/176 5 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures CABLE HAULAGE INSTALLATION BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the invention This invention relates to a cable haulage installation having a cable-like transport element which travels over cable pulleys.

2. Description of the prior art Numerous cable haulage installations of this kind are known, but all have the disadvantage that a large angle of wrap of the cable around the driving pulley, a large diameter of driving cable pulley, and a high tension in the cable are necessary in order to prevent the frictional driving force transmitted from the driving cable pulley to the cable from becoming too weak and thereby allowing the cable to slip. These considerations dictate a comparatively large structure, which is an unfavourable factor particularly forsuch cable haulage installations which are intended for the' transport of containers for the accommodation of document files and the like in office buildings.

For this reason transport bands or belts have been provided which drive such containers, and also workpieces and loose and granular material, by friction. But in this case the" serious disadvantage arises that when it is necessary for the material to be transported around curves, the transport band must be terminated and the goods guided round the curves in an expensive manner over rollers, pulleys and wire shaped bands.

Narrow transport bands have also been provided which can be guided round curves in various manners by gates, but these solutions are unsuitable for loose material. In this case the transport bands may carry small projectionsor pegs which mechanically aid frictional driving. These'may also engage in corresponding recesses on the underside of containers. But even'these curved travelling belts are expensive, because they have comparatively large space requirementsin plan andheight. Furthermore the adjustment of different curve angles is difficult or is possible only through limited angles, and in many cases practically impossible altogether.

Transport chains with frictional drives are also known. Bythe attachment ofdriver plates-e.g. made of rubber the drivi'ngcan be further improved. The

improvementof the driving effect by driving-pegsetc. is likewise possible. The capacity for negotiating curves can then be achieved if the articulating bolts of the chain links are vertically oriented. If the chain bolts are horizontal, a certain curved travelling capacity with large radii curves can be obtained by special chains having generous play at the articulating bolts. Chains of cardan construction are also known. However the chain noise is a disadvantage in certain cases e.g. it is'unacceptable in document haulage installations. Fur- Q thermore the curve guide systems are expensive, and in thecase of haulage installations for fairly low weights of'material to be transported e.g. in the case of document haulage installations the outlay per metre of chain is so high compared 'to the material transported that the economic use of such chains is impossible. The adjustment of the various shapes of curve is particularly expensive in this case.

The underlying aim of the inventionis to eliminate the disadvantages referred to and to improvethe cable haulage installation of the type referred to in such a way that a small angle of wrap, at least of the driving pulley, is associated with a small outlay and with good manoeuvreability in various directions.

SUMMARY According to the present invention, there is provided a cable haulage installation, comprising a cable-like transport element and cable pulleys over which the element travels, the transport element being provided at regular intervals with shaped members engageable in corresponding recesses formed in at least one driving cable pulley. A cable haulage installation of this type not only presents the great advantage that the driving cable pulley may have a small diameter, because the friction between the cable and the pulley can be made as great as in the case of a chain,'but the cable is also deflectable in three directions, namely to the right or left or also downwards out of the horizontal plane of travel. Particularly in the case of document transport installations, it is an important factor that the diameter of the cable pulleys can be kept small, and extremely small gate distances can also be adopted. Apart from wire cables, monofilar plastics wires can also be used.

Advantageously the shaped members are provided with driver elements extending longitudinally of the transport element, and these driver elements may themselves be provided with guide elements for bearing against a support surface. By this means it is easily possible to utilise the necessary size of the support or driver element. The guide elements referred to may in thiscase also include roller means in order to reduce friction between the guide elements and the surface.

According to a further embodiment, each guide element may be formed, in its region remote from the cable pulley, with a slot transverse to the longitudinal direction of the cable to accommodate the driver elements. Such a slot may also be formed in each shaped member for the same purpose. This is probably the simplest mode of driving, and by this means the maximum forces can be transmitted with the minimum requirements.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows a cable or a cable-like transport element 1,]which may be formed with any desired crosssection. It may e.g. have a circular or angular section, but preferably has a s'quare'secti'on. As is known, such a cable I can be deformed-or gated in any direction, because there is no need totake its width into consideration as in the case of a transport band or belt.

, Shaped members 2 are secured at regular intervals on the cable 1. The securing is effected in the direction of travel 3, and the elements 2 mounted in a vertical attitude. The lower portion 4 of each shaped member 2 is spherical, but a shape deviating somewhat from the spherical, such as an evolute curve, may also be provided. The spherical parts of the shaped members 2 are drivingly engageable in corresponding recesses 17 formed in the drive pulley 15.

The centre 5 of the sphere 4 is located approximately at the level of the edge 6 of the cable in order that the cable can easily be bent in the three directions required. On the upper portion of the shaped members 2, slots 7 are formed which receive rod-shaped driver elements 8 (FIG. 2) which may e.g. support transport containers (not shown).

The cable with the shaped members 2 described can be deflected downwards in the direction of the arrow 9 (FIG. I) and also in the directions of the arrows l and 11 (FIG. 2), over appropriately constructed cable pulleys. The minimum radii of deflection in these cases are equal.

Such a cable or cable-like transport element according to the invention can be continuously fabricated. In this case the parts of the shaped members which contact the pulleys can be made small enough to obvi ate the necessity for recesses in the non-driven cable pulleys.

The rod-like driver elements 8 (FIG. 3) are provided at their free ends with either sliding elements 12 or rollers 13 for bearing against a support surface 14 or the like, if fairly wide transport containers are required.

A feature not illustrated is that the shaped members 2 may also be spherical at the top. The driver elements 8 must then be able to engage in corresponding slots in the guiding and driving wheels, which are provided adjacent to the recesses 17.

The recesses 17 are clearly visible in FIG. 4; they may be formed like tooth gaps of a gearwheel, but in that case the tooth 16 between the gaps is advantageously provided with a groove for the support of the cable 1 as in the case of a normal cable pulley. The distance between individual shaped members 2 can naturally be made much greater than illustrated in FIG. 4, depending upon the amount of tensile force required for a comparatively small angle of wrap and for a small diameter of the pulley 15.

FIG. shows a further embodiment, in which the recesses are not slot shaped, but e.g. of spherical shape or the like, adapted to the shape of the members 2. This presents the advantage that the shaped members 2, even without the guide means shown in FIG. 3, are

maintained with the driver elements 8 in their desired position perpendicular to the axis of the cable pulley when they are drawn around the pulley.

It is not necessary for the angle of wrap to be as shown in FIG. 4. It can on the contrary be made considerably smaller, because the cable pulley l5 acts in a similar manner to a driving gearwheel. All the other cable pulleys may be constructed without the recesses 17, particularly if the lower e.g. spherical portion 4 of the shaped members 2 is made very small, so that it increases the section of the cable 1 only slightly at that point. In this case the shaped members 2 may consist of metal e.g. lead and the continuous fabrication referred to can be performed economically by pressure moulding the members onto the cable.

I claim:

I. A cable haulage installation, comprising a cablelike transport element and cable pulleys over which the element travels, the transport element being provided at regular intervals with shaped members engageable in corresponding recesses formed in at least one driving cable pulley, that part of the shaped elements which engage the resources in the said cable pulley being spherical.

2. The cable haulage installation of claim I wherein the center of said spherical part of the shaped members is located substantially in the plane of the underside of the cable-like transport element.

3. The cable haulage installation of claim 1 wherein the recesses formed in the said cable pulley are spherical sockets conforming to the shape of the spherical part of the shaped members.

4. A cable haulage installation, comprising a cablelike transport element and cable pulleys over which the element travels, the transport element being provided at regular intervals with shaped members engageable in corresponding recesses formed in at least one driving cable pulley, each shaped member having a slot at its end remote from the said cable pulley transverse to the longitudinal direction of the cable, and a driver element received in the slot of each shaped member and extending transversely to the longitudinal direction of the transport element.

5. The cable haulage installation of claim 4 wherein the recesses formed in the said cable pulley are slots transverse to the direction of movement of the transport element. 

1. A cable haulage installation, comprising a cable-like transport element and cable pulleys over which the element travels, the transport element being provided at regular intervals with shaped members engageable in corresponding recesses formed in at least one driving cable pulley, that part of the shaped elements which engage the resources in the said cable pulley being spherical.
 2. The cable haulage installation of claim 1 wherein the center of said spherical part of the shaped members is located substantially in the plane of the underside of the cable-like transport element.
 3. The cable haulage installation of claim 1 wherein the recesses formed in the said cable pulley are spherical sockets conforming to the shape of the spherical part of the shaped members.
 4. A cable haulage installation, comprising a cable-like transport element and cable pulleys over which the element travels, the transport element being provided at regular intervals with shaped members engageable in corresponding recesses formed in at least one driving cable pulley, each shaped member having a slot at its end remote from the said cable pulley transverse to the longitudinal direction of the cable, and a driver element received in the slot of each shaped member and extending transversely to the longitudinal direction of the transport element.
 5. The cable haulage installation of claim 4 wherein the recesses formed in the said cable pulley are slots transverse to the direction of movement of the transport element. 